Sources: Cs/Kemba want a breakup (other sources contradict)

[ozgod]

To combine the last few posts and summarize, Kemba is fine on this roster.  Better than fine if he was healthy. The issue is he is not healthy, and it will be unlikely to get better.  Given that, I would much prefer Hortford to Kemba at this point despite his age, as he is a better roster fit, at a position that is harder to find.  A 1 for 1 trade of Kemba for Hortford with no more than 1 or 2 second round pick sweetners would be fine with me.  KP would also be acceptable, with a much higher risk reward dynamic, and a likely need to sweeten a little more from dallas point of view.  KP healthy would be a great roster fit for the C's at that PF/C  position, but health is a big rick with those skinny 7+fters.

He is not fine. He is not a $36M contributor. Again, he might work out better with a team constructed with Hayward and/or Horford, because those two players can do some of the things Kemba isn't that good at. But, unfortunately for C's fans, that particular job isn't so appealing. Making Kemba a scoring 3rd option meant Hayward wasn't. We lost Hayward because of this.

I have my doubts that Hayward would have stayed if he was promised being "the third option".

[tonydelk]

To combine the last few posts and summarize, Kemba is fine on this roster.  Better than fine if he was healthy. The issue is he is not healthy, and it will be unlikely to get better.  Given that, I would much prefer Hortford to Kemba at this point despite his age, as he is a better roster fit, at a position that is harder to find.  A 1 for 1 trade of Kemba for Hortford with no more than 1 or 2 second round pick sweetners would be fine with me.  KP would also be acceptable, with a much higher risk reward dynamic, and a likely need to sweeten a little more from dallas point of view.  KP healthy would be a great roster fit for the C's at that PF/C  position, but health is a big rick with those skinny 7+fters.

He is not fine. He is not a $36M contributor. Again, he might work out better with a team constructed with Hayward and/or Horford, because those two players can do some of the things Kemba isn't that good at. But, unfortunately for C's fans, that particular job isn't so appealing. Making Kemba a scoring 3rd option meant Hayward wasn't. We lost Hayward because of this.

I have my doubts that Hayward would have stayed if he was promised being "the third option".

Not defending Kemba's salary but not many players at that salary really earn that salary.

Top 50.  How many on that list are earning that paycheck?  If the team does not win the championship then no one making over 30m is really earning their salary.  If Brooklyn wins then you can justify paying Harden, Durant and Kyrie.  If they don't win not worth it. 

Stephen Curry, Warriors: $43,006,362
Chris Paul, Suns: $41,358,814
Russell Westbrook, Wizards: $41,358,814
James Harden, Rockets: $41,254,920
John Wall, Rockets: $41,254,920
Kevin Durant, Nets: $40,108,950
LeBron James, Lakers: $39,219,566
Blake Griffin, Pistons: $36,810,996
Paul George, Clippers: $35,450,412
Klay Thompson, Warriors: $35,361,360
Mike Conley, Jazz: $34,502,132
Jimmy Butler, Heat: $34,379,100
Kawhi Leonard, Clippers: $34,379,100
Kemba Walker, Celtics: $34,379,100
Tobias Harris, Sixers: $34,358,850
Kyrie Irving, Nets: $33,460,350 (plus incentives; 15% trade kicker)
Khris Middleton, Bucks: $33,051,724
Anthony Davis, Lakers: $32,742,000
Damian Lillard, Trail Blazers: $31,626,953
Kevin Love, Cavaliers: $31,258,256
Pascal Siakam, Raptors: $30,559,200
Ben Simmons, Sixers: $30,559,200
Kyle Lowry, Raptors: $30,500,000
Steven Adams, Pelicans: $29,592,695
Joel Embiid, Sixers: $29,542,010
Nikola Jokic, Nuggets: $29,542,010
Andrew Wiggins, Warriors: $29,542,010
Devin Booker, Suns: $29,467,800
Kristaps Porzingis, Mavericks: $29,467,800
Karl-Anthony Towns, Timberwolves: $29,467,800
CJ McCollum, Trail Blazers: $29,354,152
Bradley Beal, Wizards: $28,751,774
Andre Drummond, Cavaliers: $28,751,774
D’Angelo Russell, Timberwolves: $28,649,250
Gordon Hayward, Hornets: $28,500,000
Otto Porter Jr., Bulls: $28,489,239
DeMar DeRozan, Spurs: $27,739,975
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks: $27,528,088
Rudy Gobert, Jazz: $27,525,281 (plus incentives)
Al Horford, Thunder: $27,500,000
Brandon Ingram, Pelicans: $27,285,000
Jamal Murray, Nuggets: $27,285,000
Nikola Vucevic, Magic: $26,000,000
Jrue Holiday, Pelicans: $25,876,111 (plus incentives)
Buddy Hield, Kings: $24,701,834 (plus incentives)
LaMarcus Aldridge, Spurs: $24,000,000 (15% trade kicker)
Jaylen Brown, Celtics: $23,735,118 (plus incentives)
Draymond Green, Warriors: $22,246,956 (15% trade kicker)
Harrison Barnes, Kings: $22,215,909
Fred VanVleet, Raptors: $21,250,000

[Kernewek]

Top 50.  How many on that list are earning that paycheck?  If the team does not win the championship then no one making over 30m is really earning their salary.  If Brooklyn wins then you can justify paying Harden, Durant and Kyrie.  If they don't win not worth it. 

I'd really like to see someone update the numbers on something like this, because this is horrifically out of date and the only thing I could find with a quick google:
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/kawhi-leonard-like-all-the-best-nba-players-is-vastly-underpaid/

[td450]

To combine the last few posts and summarize, Kemba is fine on this roster.  Better than fine if he was healthy. The issue is he is not healthy, and it will be unlikely to get better.  Given that, I would much prefer Hortford to Kemba at this point despite his age, as he is a better roster fit, at a position that is harder to find.  A 1 for 1 trade of Kemba for Hortford with no more than 1 or 2 second round pick sweetners would be fine with me.  KP would also be acceptable, with a much higher risk reward dynamic, and a likely need to sweeten a little more from dallas point of view.  KP healthy would be a great roster fit for the C's at that PF/C  position, but health is a big rick with those skinny 7+fters.

He is not fine. He is not a $36M contributor. Again, he might work out better with a team constructed with Hayward and/or Horford, because those two players can do some of the things Kemba isn't that good at. But, unfortunately for C's fans, that particular job isn't so appealing. Making Kemba a scoring 3rd option meant Hayward wasn't. We lost Hayward because of this.

I have my doubts that Hayward would have stayed if he was promised being "the third option".

Well, he left, and he told us why. The role he did have was insufficient, and that should have been obvious. So, while it is possible that a more reasonable strategy also would not have worked, I can blame Ainge for pursuing a strategy that definitely wouldn't have worked.

You could also argue that this doesn't matter because Hayward just got hurt once again. But he was an ideal guy for this team and it was a huge mistake not to try much harder to keep him.

[nickagneta]

And is it only me who thinks that Kemba is a great fit next to the Jays? He gives us a guy who we can really run the offence through with his ability to strain defences in the PnR and his willingness and ability to play off-ball (contrary to popular opinion, his passing is really nice imo and he has shown flashes of being a pretty good extra passer as well, then you have his shooting and ability to move off the ball a bit) complements the Jays pretty well when the latter are on the ball.

He is an ok passer,  he is not good on D.   And his health makes him an unreliable contributor.  Does anyone worry about him getting worse with age?  I know I do. 

Courtesy of statmuse 

The Boston Celtics had a record of 22-21 with Kemba Walker this season.
The Boston Celtics had a record of 14-15 without Kemba Walker this season.

https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/celtics-record-when-kemba-plays-2021
https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/2021-celtics-record-without-kemba

So as one can see his play is really marginally in terms of W and L.  I think he is third best player on the team.   With him we have a puncher's chance to win because he can heat it up.  But long term, is he a championship caliber guard?  He is not a max player in terms of his ability anymore but a  good player.

I fear we are stuck with him.

You realize that whole win loss record with and without a Celtic player has most players moving the needle very little, right?

Brown 30-28....6-8
Thompson 27-27...9-9
Smart 24-24...12-12
Pritchard 33-33...2-2
Ojeleye 28-28...6-6
Langford 9-9...27-27
Nesmith 22-24...14-12
Grant 30-33...6-3

Only Tatum and Timelord had decent positive numbers and only Fournier had poorish numbers. Heck, Tatum was only 34-30...2-6 so didn't move the numbers all that much....2 games more positive than Brown and 3 more than Kemba.

[nickagneta]

To combine the last few posts and summarize, Kemba is fine on this roster.  Better than fine if he was healthy. The issue is he is not healthy, and it will be unlikely to get better.  Given that, I would much prefer Hortford to Kemba at this point despite his age, as he is a better roster fit, at a position that is harder to find.  A 1 for 1 trade of Kemba for Hortford with no more than 1 or 2 second round pick sweetners would be fine with me.  KP would also be acceptable, with a much higher risk reward dynamic, and a likely need to sweeten a little more from dallas point of view.  KP healthy would be a great roster fit for the C's at that PF/C  position, but health is a big rick with those skinny 7+fters.

He is not fine. He is not a $36M contributor. Again, he might work out better with a team constructed with Hayward and/or Horford, because those two players can do some of the things Kemba isn't that good at. But, unfortunately for C's fans, that particular job isn't so appealing. Making Kemba a scoring 3rd option meant Hayward wasn't. We lost Hayward because of this.

Let’s just call a spade a spade. The Kemba signing was a bad move for a multitude of reasons including health, fit, prioritization in our offense, cap management, etc.

They are two different players for sure but why can’t Kemba be our Chris Paul? I mean look at the construct of the Suns who are in the WCF:

Chris Paul (can Kemba perform similarly? 16.4ppg/8.9 apg/vet leadership) not on apg
Devin Booker (slight edge to Booker with Jaylen Brown given his 2 way capabilities)
Mikal Bridges (Evan Fournier = similar player)
Jae Crowder (give me Jayson Tatum)
Deandre Ayton (could Timelord contribute similarly with health)

Bench:

Cameron Payne (Marcus Smart)
Jevon Carter (Nesmith/Langford)
Dario Saric/Frank Kaminsky (Tristan Thompson/Grant Williams)

I just donuts see us as far away from being a contending team as most do. Sure Brooklyn exposed us. But we were depleted of Brown/Timelord.

We could have overpaid to get Halliburton in the last draft

We could have overpaid to obtain Aaron Gordon.

We can still overpay to get Wagner, or perhaps Scotty Barnes.

Who cares about one extra draft pick at this point. How long do we get 5 points and 3 rebounds out of the power forward slot before we fix it?

I'm sure there are other examples of moves that were realistic to do. There are options to improving, but we have to do it at some point. We don't need stars. We need complementary players, and they are there to be had. Good players who can do more than one thing.

You really have no idea if any of those trades could be made. No one traded in the lottery last year. GMs tend to love their lottery picks. Heck, Ainge was once turned down for moving just a few spots while offering 4 1st rounders. There is no indication that anyone last year would have traded their pick or that Brad can trade up as much as 6-10 spots this year, regardless of cost.

As for Gordon, well, his play is massively overrated and he had little positive effect on Denver even though he played next to the MVP/best floor raiser in the game this year. Tatum is a much better PF than Gordon in every way, and PF isn't even Tatum's best position....yet.

[nickagneta]

If the Kemba for Aldridge rumor is true (and there is no reason to believe it isn't), then the Spurs could have had Kemba and his salary for essentially nothing (since they bought out Aldridge at this full salary anyway) and they still said no.  Pops has great respect for Kemba .... and he still said no.

That says a lot about Kemba's value.

Kemba's value last offseason had to be million times worse than this offseason. He still had 3 years left on his contract and he was having stem cell injections to see if he could really ever effectively play again. Now we know that he was able to get through a season putting up his career averages (and only improving towards the end of the season) w/o any setbacks on that knee. And he only has two seasons left on his contract.

And contrary to what shaqattack said above me, Kemba's demise is seemingly greatly exaggerated. We have no reason to believe that Kemba can't be a very productive player - at least through the end of his contract, but probably beyond, as well. He maybe on the shorter side, but he makes players work for their baskets. I'd rather someone need to shoot over my defensive player than go around him every time.

Nobody rational is saying he's done.

They are saying he doesn't fit this roster. They say he is 31 and his game probably won't age well. They are saying no one will want to pay $36M for him, that it will be very tough to trade him. They are saying he is a 20 ppg scorer of mediocre efficiency and he doesn't do much else very well.

But... he can score 20 ppg for an NBA roster. We know he isn't done.

This is how NBA teams fail. Give out a max contract, then watch that player be a poor fit and a poor return on the resources allocated.

I guess I am just an idiot, but can you please explain to me why he is a bad fit? We were 3rd in the EC and went to the ECF last season after losing Kyrie, Horford, Morris, and Rozier. Kemba and Kanter were really the only replacements for those players. He is a legit 3rd scorer who provides a skillset our bigger wings do not have and cannot learn (speed/agility). He is an incredible, positive, uplifting individual and a great mentor for the younger players on this team. He also chose to come to Boston as a FA at a very rocky time in our franchise's recent history.

I get it, he gets paid a little too much and he was load managed coming back from an injury in a condensed season. But he is supposed to play in b2bs moving forward and will finally get a full offseason of rest. People are desperate to get him off the team, but I am not sure what the end goal is here. The trade options that are being thrown around by and large make us a worse team - why do we want to be worse? Like, people talk about the Clippers being a good fit for Kemba, but they are built around two all-star wings, just like we are. Why would they want him and not us?

Here's the problem that a lot of people miss. The caliber of player that most people want as a 3rd scorer next to the Jays tends to cost money. Especially if you want someone who can take over a game if the Jays are struggling but otherwise play a supporting role moving the ball or distributing. You don't find the Haywards or Horfords lying around for $20m because other teams are willing to pay them more. For $20m you get players like Smart or Fournier, who are good at certain things (Smart D, Fournier shooting) but are not good in other things. To a large extent the market dictates what a player's market value is and GMs have to decide if they are willing to overpay in some cases.

Also, those types of players that you want to fit in a third scorer tend to want bigger roles, especially if they know that other teams are willing to give them bigger roles. Hayward signed with us coming from a No.1 role in Utah, he thought by coming here he would still have a major role as a No.2 to IT who wasn't a big ball handler anyway. Instead he ended up being a No.4 which everyone thought he was overpaid for when he was here (remember the calls to trade him because he wasn't scoring 20+ ppg "like a max player should", but then everyone missed when he left. Same with Horford, you had all the "Average Al" monikers and the jokes about an All Star averaging 12ppg. At least those players were professional when they were here but they didn't want to be here, sure money was likely a factor but satisfaction with the team was also a factor. It's rare to find players of that caliber who are willing to play second fiddle to guys who (at the time) hadn't even made it yet in the NBA. The Ray Allen types who are willing to play within themselves and accept lesser roles to try to win, kind of like Harden is doing with the Nets, he's decided he's going to be the No3 guy behind KD and Cryrie.

So even if a player's skillset matches what the Jays need for support they may not actually want to fill that role of being a 3rd string. That's my concern about Porzingis...from all accounts he's not happy with having to be a support player to Luka, who actually passes the ball a lot more than either of the Jays do. How would he be a good fit here from a chemistry point of view, other than being a stretch 4?

Finally, isn't it odd that we seem to be running out of players to match the Jays with? Cryrie, Gordon, Al and now Kemba. We're running out of "good fits". Either they don't want to play with the Jays, or they aren't "good fits" because they are overpaid. Strange.

TP.

Kemba has the mentality and willingness to be that 3rd option. That counts for a helluva lot. How many guys out there that he can be traded for, that isn't a major step back in quality of player, will have that ability to accept a #3 option role

[nickagneta]

If the Kemba for Aldridge rumor is true (and there is no reason to believe it isn't), then the Spurs could have had Kemba and his salary for essentially nothing (since they bought out Aldridge at this full salary anyway) and they still said no.  Pops has great respect for Kemba .... and he still said no.

That says a lot about Kemba's value.

Kemba's value last offseason had to be million times worse than this offseason. He still had 3 years left on his contract and he was having stem cell injections to see if he could really ever effectively play again. Now we know that he was able to get through a season putting up his career averages (and only improving towards the end of the season) w/o any setbacks on that knee. And he only has two seasons left on his contract.

And contrary to what shaqattack said above me, Kemba's demise is seemingly greatly exaggerated. We have no reason to believe that Kemba can't be a very productive player - at least through the end of his contract, but probably beyond, as well. He maybe on the shorter side, but he makes players work for their baskets. I'd rather someone need to shoot over my defensive player than go around him every time.

Nobody rational is saying he's done.

They are saying he doesn't fit this roster. They say he is 31 and his game probably won't age well. They are saying no one will want to pay $36M for him, that it will be very tough to trade him. They are saying he is a 20 ppg scorer of mediocre efficiency and he doesn't do much else very well.

But... he can score 20 ppg for an NBA roster. We know he isn't done.

This is how NBA teams fail. Give out a max contract, then watch that player be a poor fit and a poor return on the resources allocated.

I guess I am just an idiot, but can you please explain to me why he is a bad fit? We were 3rd in the EC and went to the ECF last season after losing Kyrie, Horford, Morris, and Rozier. Kemba and Kanter were really the only replacements for those players. He is a legit 3rd scorer who provides a skillset our bigger wings do not have and cannot learn (speed/agility). He is an incredible, positive, uplifting individual and a great mentor for the younger players on this team. He also chose to come to Boston as a FA at a very rocky time in our franchise's recent history.

I get it, he gets paid a little too much and he was load managed coming back from an injury in a condensed season. But he is supposed to play in b2bs moving forward and will finally get a full offseason of rest. People are desperate to get him off the team, but I am not sure what the end goal is here. The trade options that are being thrown around by and large make us a worse team - why do we want to be worse? Like, people talk about the Clippers being a good fit for Kemba, but they are built around two all-star wings, just like we are. Why would they want him and not us?

Here's the problem that a lot of people miss. The caliber of player that most people want as a 3rd scorer next to the Jays tends to cost money. Especially if you want someone who can take over a game if the Jays are struggling but otherwise play a supporting role moving the ball or distributing. You don't find the Haywards or Horfords lying around for $20m because other teams are willing to pay them more. For $20m you get players like Smart or Fournier, who are good at certain things (Smart D, Fournier shooting) but are not good in other things. To a large extent the market dictates what a player's market value is and GMs have to decide if they are willing to overpay in some cases.

Also, those types of players that you want to fit in a third scorer tend to want bigger roles, especially if they know that other teams are willing to give them bigger roles. Hayward signed with us coming from a No.1 role in Utah, he thought by coming here he would still have a major role as a No.2 to IT who wasn't a big ball handler anyway. Instead he ended up being a No.4 which everyone thought he was overpaid for when he was here (remember the calls to trade him because he wasn't scoring 20+ ppg "like a max player should", but then everyone missed when he left. Same with Horford, you had all the "Average Al" monikers and the jokes about an All Star averaging 12ppg. At least those players were professional when they were here but they didn't want to be here, sure money was likely a factor but satisfaction with the team was also a factor. It's rare to find players of that caliber who are willing to play second fiddle to guys who (at the time) hadn't even made it yet in the NBA. The Ray Allen types who are willing to play within themselves and accept lesser roles to try to win, kind of like Harden is doing with the Nets, he's decided he's going to be the No3 guy behind KD and Cryrie.

So even if a player's skillset matches what the Jays need for support they may not actually want to fill that role of being a 3rd string. That's my concern about Porzingis...from all accounts he's not happy with having to be a support player to Luka, who actually passes the ball a lot more than either of the Jays do. How would he be a good fit here from a chemistry point of view, other than being a stretch 4?

Finally, isn't it odd that we seem to be running out of players to match the Jays with? Cryrie, Gordon, Al and now Kemba. We're running out of "good fits". Either they don't want to play with the Jays, or they aren't "good fits" because they are overpaid. Strange.

I mean anyone who pays Fournier 20 million would be saddled with a terrible deal going forward, and there are some really solid players who fit well next to on-ball stars like Brogdon are being paid 20ish million per year. Btw I thought that Horford was a top 10-15 player when he was with us while Hayward was a nice top 40-50 player in the '19-'20 season, those were players I was willing to pay big money in order to keep (maybe not 120/4 for Hayward, but I definitely felt that Horford's deal wasn't that bad even factoring in his age).

And is it only me who thinks that Kemba is a great fit next to the Jays? He gives us a guy who we can really run the offence through with his ability to strain defences in the PnR and his willingness and ability to play off-ball (contrary to popular opinion, his passing is really nice imo and he has shown flashes of being a pretty good extra passer as well, then you have his shooting and ability to move off the ball a bit) complements the Jays pretty well when the latter are on the ball.

No...I think he is a great fit too.

[Goldstar88]

To combine the last few posts and summarize, Kemba is fine on this roster.  Better than fine if he was healthy. The issue is he is not healthy, and it will be unlikely to get better.  Given that, I would much prefer Hortford to Kemba at this point despite his age, as he is a better roster fit, at a position that is harder to find.  A 1 for 1 trade of Kemba for Hortford with no more than 1 or 2 second round pick sweetners would be fine with me.  KP would also be acceptable, with a much higher risk reward dynamic, and a likely need to sweeten a little more from dallas point of view.  KP healthy would be a great roster fit for the C's at that PF/C  position, but health is a big rick with those skinny 7+fters.

He is not fine. He is not a $36M contributor. Again, he might work out better with a team constructed with Hayward and/or Horford, because those two players can do some of the things Kemba isn't that good at. But, unfortunately for C's fans, that particular job isn't so appealing. Making Kemba a scoring 3rd option meant Hayward wasn't. We lost Hayward because of this.

I have my doubts that Hayward would have stayed if he was promised being "the third option".

Not defending Kemba's salary but not many players at that salary really earn that salary.

Top 50.  How many on that list are earning that paycheck?  If the team does not win the championship then no one making over 30m is really earning their salary.  If Brooklyn wins then you can justify paying Harden, Durant and Kyrie.  If they don't win not worth it. 

Stephen Curry, Warriors: $43,006,362
Chris Paul, Suns: $41,358,814
Russell Westbrook, Wizards: $41,358,814
James Harden, Rockets: $41,254,920
John Wall, Rockets: $41,254,920
Kevin Durant, Nets: $40,108,950
LeBron James, Lakers: $39,219,566
Blake Griffin, Pistons: $36,810,996
Paul George, Clippers: $35,450,412
Klay Thompson, Warriors: $35,361,360
Mike Conley, Jazz: $34,502,132
Jimmy Butler, Heat: $34,379,100
Kawhi Leonard, Clippers: $34,379,100
Kemba Walker, Celtics: $34,379,100
Tobias Harris, Sixers: $34,358,850
Kyrie Irving, Nets: $33,460,350 (plus incentives; 15% trade kicker)
Khris Middleton, Bucks: $33,051,724
Anthony Davis, Lakers: $32,742,000
Damian Lillard, Trail Blazers: $31,626,953
Kevin Love, Cavaliers: $31,258,256
Pascal Siakam, Raptors: $30,559,200
Ben Simmons, Sixers: $30,559,200
Kyle Lowry, Raptors: $30,500,000
Steven Adams, Pelicans: $29,592,695
Joel Embiid, Sixers: $29,542,010
Nikola Jokic, Nuggets: $29,542,010
Andrew Wiggins, Warriors: $29,542,010
Devin Booker, Suns: $29,467,800
Kristaps Porzingis, Mavericks: $29,467,800
Karl-Anthony Towns, Timberwolves: $29,467,800
CJ McCollum, Trail Blazers: $29,354,152
Bradley Beal, Wizards: $28,751,774
Andre Drummond, Cavaliers: $28,751,774
D’Angelo Russell, Timberwolves: $28,649,250
Gordon Hayward, Hornets: $28,500,000
Otto Porter Jr., Bulls: $28,489,239
DeMar DeRozan, Spurs: $27,739,975
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks: $27,528,088
Rudy Gobert, Jazz: $27,525,281 (plus incentives)
Al Horford, Thunder: $27,500,000
Brandon Ingram, Pelicans: $27,285,000
Jamal Murray, Nuggets: $27,285,000
Nikola Vucevic, Magic: $26,000,000
Jrue Holiday, Pelicans: $25,876,111 (plus incentives)
Buddy Hield, Kings: $24,701,834 (plus incentives)
LaMarcus Aldridge, Spurs: $24,000,000 (15% trade kicker)
Jaylen Brown, Celtics: $23,735,118 (plus incentives)
Draymond Green, Warriors: $22,246,956 (15% trade kicker)
Harrison Barnes, Kings: $22,215,909
Fred VanVleet, Raptors: $21,250,000

I think Kemba has arguably the worst contract On that list considering his overall skillset. If healthy, I’d rather have Wall or Love at this point. They are more versatile players and are not undersized by 4-5 inches.

[BruceBanner18]

Unless his salary is used as ballast for a third All-Star this summer (Lillard 🤞) the obvious move is to keep Kemba. Why?

1. He has his lowest trade value ever this summer
2. He is in a contact year increasing the potential for a return to "All-Star" Kemba type play which would for sure move the needle on this team
3. He could opt out next summer so we're not 'stuck' for long
4. Even if he has another crappy season and doesn't opt out, next summer he is expiring increasing his value

It makes zero sense to dump him, or worse to give assets to send him elsewhere when his value can only increase. The move is to send Smart and TT w an asset for a youngish big (Turner?, Wiseman?). This opens time for Nesmith, Langford, TL and Pritchard to get some more run. Hope that Kemba's health and play are rehabilitated. If we land a big who can protect the rim maybe that lessens Kemba's defensive short comings and we win some playoff games. Worse case, we get booted in the first round again but we'll see what we have in our youth, maybe identify a young starter (Nesmith? 🤞) to pair with Brown/Tatum; or a valuable trade asset or 2 to go along with Kemba's expiring for next summers disgruntled star.

For my money, that's the direction for this off-season.

[BudweiserCeltic]

More than Kemba, I'm more interested in solidifying our PF/C positions. If Kemba can be used to bring that in return, particularly a Center, then that'd be good. But I'm not concerned at all about the opportunity cost of keeping Kemba in our roster or his performance.

[Goldstar88]

Guess he did want out? Kinda strange that he hasn’t said anything on social media at this point.

Walker maintained his professionalism throughout the season but his health issues, the team’s poor performance and boos from TD Garden fans — something that particularly “p---ed him off,” according to multiple sources — made him sour on his situation in Boston and had spoken privately about being willing to move to a new team. It had become clear he was not going to be in the team’s long-term plans. 4 hours ago – via Jared Weiss @ The Athletic

[footey]

Guess he did want out? Kinda strange that he hasn’t said anything on social media at this point.

Walker maintained his professionalism throughout the season but his health issues, the team’s poor performance and boos from TD Garden fans — something that particularly “p---ed him off,” according to multiple sources — made him sour on his situation in Boston and had spoken privately about being willing to move to a new team. It had become clear he was not going to be in the team’s long-term plans. 4 hours ago – via Jared Weiss @ The Athletic

I find this kind of laughable; what fans? There were no fans until games 3 and 4 vs the Nets, when Kemba didn't even play, and the fans did not boo much at all.